Chapter 1 — I'll Make the Wolf King Pay in This Life

I have been reborn exactly on the day of the black market auction. My younger sister, Chi Oanh, eyes gleaming with greed, dropped a billion yuan to purchase the beast-wolf in the iron cage. In my previous life, that wolf was my husband—and the madman who crushed three of my ribs. I watched coldly as Chi Oanh reached her hand into the cage. The moment the wolf opened its jaws, I turned and walked away. Behind me erupted desperate screams, the sickening crunch of bone, and the frantic, shrill wailing of my parents. I crouched in a dark corner, staring at a black snake that was gasping for its final breaths. It opened one eye halfway and flickered its tongue. I scooped it up and shoved it into my jacket pocket.

"One yuan. You're a bargain."

It squirmed in my pocket, its tail curling around my finger. The God of Ten Thousand Beasts—the deity of all creatures. I only learned its true identity after I died in my past life. But in this life, it belongs to me.

[Chapter 1] Long City, the third basement level, the black market auction zone. The air was thick with the scent of rust and the pungent musk of wild beasts. Chi Loc Minh sat on a cheap plastic chair in a corner, facing a row of bidders draped in fur coats and masks. She had been reborn. To be precise, three hours ago, she was still in freefall from the top of a hundred-story building, the triumphant laughter of her sister, Chi Oanh, ringing in her ears. Three hours later, she opened her eyes to find herself back on this uncomfortable plastic seat.

On the auction stage, a massive iron cage was rolled out. Inside sat a skeletal, matted Husky. No, that wasn't a dog. That was an otherworldly beast-man, Le Hanh. The King of Wolves, disguised as a dim-witted canine to infiltrate the auction. In her past life, Chi Loc Minh had exhausted her savings to buy him, nursed his wounds, and cared for him for three years. Once he transformed into human form, he helped her monopolize the global rare earth mining industry. But in the fourth year, he snapped three of her ribs. Because he was born treacherous, and because he never truly recognized a master.

"Starting bid: 100 million."

The auctioneer’s voice echoed through the basement. Beside Chi Loc Minh, Chi Oanh bolted upright. "Sister, I have my eyes on this one."

Chi Oanh was twenty-two, two years younger than Chi Loc Minh. Her small face was filled with excitement and avarice. She had worn this same expression in the past life, only back then, Chi Loc Minh hadn't let her steal him. But this time... Chi Loc Minh leaned back, crossing her legs. "Then go ahead and take it."

Chi Oanh paused, then a flicker of maniacal joy crossed her eyes. "One billion!" She raised her bidding paddle, her voice grating like glass on glass. The hall went silent. The auctioneer gulped. "Guest number 10 bids one billion. Any higher?" No one raised a paddle. One billion for a filthy, matted "Husky"? It was madness. Chi Oanh gave Chi Loc Minh a smug look and sauntered toward the cage. "Sister, thanks for the gift."

Chi Loc Minh watched her back, a faint smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth. Chi Oanh approached the cage, crouched, and thrust her hand through the iron bars. "Be a good boy, I’m your new master now."

The "Husky" raised its head. A pair of golden, vertical-slit eyes stared coldly at her. The next second, "Aaaah!" A blood-curdling scream tore through the auction hall. Chi Loc Minh didn't even blink. She heard the crisp snapping of bones, heard Chi Oanh’s shriek turn hoarse, heard her father Chi Kien Bang’s chair topple over, and the frantic wailing of her mother, On Chi. The smell of fresh blood wafted through the air.

Chi Loc Minh stood and walked toward the darkest corner of the hall. There, she found a dust-covered glass tank. Inside, a black snake the size of a thumb lay coiled, its scales dull, barely showing signs of life. The label read: Unknown species, near death, final price: 1 yuan. No one bothered to bid on it. Chi Loc Minh crouched down and looked at the snake. It opened its eyes slightly. Golden, vertical pupils—but unlike the wolf, there was something ancient and indifferent in them. Like an entity that had lived for tens of thousands of years and had merely closed its eyes for a fleeting nap.

"One yuan," she told the trembling attendant nearby. The attendant, pale from the gore, merely nodded like a machine. Chi Loc Minh picked up the glass tank. The snake shifted, its tail tapping against the glass. Behind her, Chi Oanh’s screams continued. Chi Kien Bang and On Chi were going mad, howling for a doctor. No one noticed Chi Loc Minh. She carried the tank and walked out of the auction basement. The moment the night breeze hit her, she heard a voice, deep and raspy, emanate from the tank.

"Was I... only worth one yuan?"

Chi Loc Minh looked down. The snake’s mouth was opening and closing, its tiny tongue flickering. "And I am only worth a single yuan?"

Chi Loc Minh stopped walking. She lifted the tank to eye level, facing the tiny black snake. "You're still alive?"

"Nonsense," the snake’s voice sounded like sandpaper on metal. "I merely... fell into a short slumber." Having said that, its head lolled to the side, and it fainted again. Chi Loc Minh stared at it for three seconds before tucking the tank into her coat pocket. "One yuan. No returns, no exchanges."

[Chapter 2] Chi Loc Minh lived in a thirty-square-meter room in the old quarter. In her past life, she had poured all her money into the wolf, leaving herself destitute. This time, she planned to stay poor, but she would be poor with a plan. She set the tank on her nightstand and clicked on the lamp. The snake was still unconscious, coiled in a tiny circle, its breath so faint it was nearly imperceptible. Chi Loc Minh searched the fridge for the last two eggs, whisked one in a bowl, and carefully dipped a cotton swab into it, nudging it toward the snake’s mouth. No reaction. She tried milk—still nothing. Finally, she poured a little filtered water into a bottle cap and placed it by its head. "Starve, then, if you want."

She pulled the blanket over herself and curled up in bed, closing her eyes. Memories of her past life flooded back like a tide. Le Hanh. That wolf, born with a treacherous soul. It had taken her three years to nurse him from a mangy beast into a human form. The first thing he did upon transforming was break her ribs. The second was to use her to amass 300 billion. The third was to stand on the balcony and watch, unmoved, as Chi Oanh pushed her to her death.

Chi Loc Minh pulled the blanket over her head. No more thinking. No wolves this time—only the snake. The God of Ten Thousand Beasts. She had only realized this after her death, wandering the world as a soul, hearing legends of the beast-man world. The God of Ten Thousand Beasts, An Cuu Uyen. He had fallen thirty thousand years ago, his soul shattered across the realms. Each fragment resided in the body of a beast, waiting for someone fated to awaken them. In her past life, the black snake had died in the corner of the black market, unnoticed. This time, she had claimed him.

At 3:00 AM, Chi Loc Minh was awakened by a rustling sound. She opened her eyes to see the glass tank empty. The snake was gone. She sat up abruptly and clicked on the lamp. The black snake was coiled beside her pillow, licking the last drops of water from the bottle cap. It raised its head, its golden eyes burning bright in the light.

"Human."